Cargo net

ABSTRACT

A cargo net ( 1 ) comprising a plurality of interconnected netting strands ( 2 ) providing a mesh ( 3 ) and having a main panel ( 4 ) and a plurality of wing panels ( 5 ) extending therefrom, the main panel ( 4 ) being adapted to overlie the cargo in use and the wing panels ( 5 ) being adapted to hang down against sides of the cargo to surround the cargo, each wing panel ( 5 ) having an edge ( 6 ) which in use meets an edge ( 6 ) of an adjacent wing panel ( 5 ) to define a net corner ( 7 ), the net including a plurality of corner securement devices ( 8 ) spaced apart along the net corner ( 7 ) whereby the corner is releasably secured for use, each securement device ( 8 ) comprising a projection extending from one of the meeting edges and an eye associated with the projection.

The present invention relates to a cargo net, and more particularly to acargo net for securing cargo on a platform or pallet, e.g. in the holdof an aircraft.

It is well known to secure cargo on a platform or pallet by means of anet lying over the cargo and secured to the platform or pallet.Conventionally, such nets comprise a main panel, having a plurality ofwing panels extending therefrom. The net typically has a generallyrectangular main panel and four generally rectangular wing panels, thusforming a generally cruciform shape.

To secure the cargo on the platform or pallet, the main panel of the netis lain on top of the cargo and the wing panels arranged to hang downagainst the sides of the cargo to surround the cargo. The meeting edgesof adjacent wing panels are releasably secured together to form a cornerby means of a so-called “lashing line” or “corner tie”. The lashing lineor corner tie is a cord which extends from the main panel of the netbetween the wing panels. To form the corner between adjacent wingpanels, the lashing line or corner tie is threaded to and fro betweenthe wing panels at the meeting edges in a downwards direction away fromthe main panel, to lace the meeting edges together, before being tiedoff with a knot, or secured by a hook, near the platform or pallet.

The bottom edges of the wing panels are provided with securementdevices, e.g. floor fittings, which are adapted to engage withcomplementary devices of the platform or pallet, whereby the net issecured to the platform or pallet.

To release the net, the above securement procedure is reversed.

Such known nets suffer from a number of disadvantages. The operation ofthreading and unthreading the lashing line can be slow and troublesome.Moreover, the lashing lines can become knotted and tangled. Thesecurement knot at the end of a lashing line can be difficult torelease, and it is quite common for cargo handlers to cut a lashing linefor release, if the knot has tightened during transport or if the linehas become entangled with the net. It is then necessary for a freshlashing line to be provided before the net can be reused.

It is an object of the present invention to go at least some way towardsovercoming the above disadvantages, or at least to provide an acceptablealternative system for releasably securing the meeting edges of eachadjacent pair of wing panels together to form a net corner.

According to the present invention, there is provided a cargo netcomprising a plurality of interconnected netting strands providing amesh and having a main panel and a plurality of wing panels extendingtherefrom, the main panel being adapted to overlie the cargo in use andthe wing panels being adapted to hang down against sides of the cargo tosurround the cargo, each wing panel having an edge which in use meets anedge of an adjacent wing panel to define a net corner, the net includinga plurality of corner securement devices spaced apart along the netcorner whereby the corner is releasably secured for use, each securementdevice comprising a projection extending from one of the meeting edgesand an eye associated with the projection.

It is most preferred that the first securement device is correspondinglyarranged to engage a portion of the net mesh at the net corner, therebyholding the meeting edges mutually together, and that the eye of thefirst and subsequent securement devices are correspondingly arranged toreceive second and subsequent securement devices which pass through eachrespective eye of the first and subsequent securement devices andengage, in each case, a portion of the net mesh at the net corner,thereby holding the meeting edges mutually together along the netcorner.

The securement devices preferably comprise flexible projections eachextending from one of the meeting edges (e.g. each extending from thesame meeting edge of a particular corner). The eye of a projection maycomprise a flexible loop. A securement device may conveniently consistof a single loop of a flexible material, e.g. of the netting strandmaterial or another natural and/or synthetic material, secured to a wingpanel and extending therefrom.

In a particularly advantageous form, the device may be formed by a netstrand itself, i.e. integral with the net. This form provides thesubstantial advantage that the devices cannot be removed from the net.

In addition, it is preferred that the projections of the securementdevices are of a colour which contrasts with the mesh of the net. Thisenables quick identification of the securement devices by the user.

It is preferred that the securement devices are spaced apart by onenormal diagonal dimension of the mesh of the net, along the line of thecorner, and that each projection should be at least as long as thenormal diagonal dimension of the mesh of the net, preferably about 50%or more longer. According to current international aviation regulations,the mesh dimension of a cargo net cannot be greater than 10 inches (25cm) along each side (corresponding to a normal diagonal dimension of thesquare mesh of about 14 inches (36 cm)). The same requirement applies inprinciple to the net corners. The length of a projection will thereforebe selected, according to the mesh size and the spacing of theprojections, so that the engaged securement devices provide in use areleasable mesh of interengaged parts across the corner, having a meshsize within the international aviation regulations, and preferably nogreater than the mesh size of the net itself.

The net may preferably be constructed from natural, synthetic or mixednatural/synthetic fibrous strands. The mesh shape may be anyconventional shape, e.g. “diamond” or “square”. The net may beconstructed from a number of connected panels or sub-panels. The meshsizes and shapes may be the same or different as between differentpanels or sub-panels. The breaking strength of the strands may suitablybe in the range of between about 2 and about 50 kN. Suitable materialsinclude strands of twisted, braided, woven or plaited polypropylene,polyester or nylon.

The net may include conventional tensioning devices and/or devices forattachment to the pallet, the platform or the cargo. Such devices maycomprise hooks, for example reefing hooks, secured to strands of thenetting material. As is well known, such hooks can be used to tensionthe net and take up slack in the net, by hooking the hooks aroundstrands of other parts of the netting to make a tuck and thereby tensionthe net over the cargo.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of securing a cargo net comprising a first step of engaging thefirst securement device with a corresponding portion of the net mesh onthe adjacent wing panel such that the edges are held together and asecond step of sequentially engaging each subsequent securement devicewith the eye of the preceding device and a corresponding portion of netmesh on the adjacent wing panel.

The securement devices may either be sequentially threaded into theirrespective neighbours and the net mesh, in order starting from the top(adjacent to the main panel) of the net and working downwards orstarting from the bottom of the net and working upwards.

Each securement device is preferably adapted so that, after threading itthrough the eye of the preceding (upwardly or downwardly adjacent)device and the net mesh, and pulling the securement device downwards (orupwards) to close the corner, it thereby provides a free eye to receivethe next (downwardly or upwardly adjacent) device, and so on.

The free eye of the bottom-most (or top most) device preferably carriesa locking device, e.g. a conventional spring-closed hook or double studfitting, to secure it to a strand of the net or to the platform orpallet.

The net according to the present invention enables the corners to bespeedily and safely constructed when the net is lain over a cargo, withsubstantially reduced likelihood of broken or missing parts, as comparedwith conventional nets. Moreover, the net can be quickly released fromthe cargo by releasing the locking device at the end of the corner andpulling the corner apart. Because each securement device is relativelyshort, and typically passes through only an eye of an adjacent deviceand one mesh of the net, frictional resistance to separation of thecorner is not great.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference will now be madeto the accompanying drawings showing, solely by way of example, oneembodiment of the present invention, in which;

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of a cargo net according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 shows the edges of two adjacent wing panels of the cargo netbefore closure; and

FIG. 3 shows the edges of two adjacent wing panels of the cargo netafter closure.

Referring now to FIG. 1, this shows a plan view of an embodiment of acargo net 1 according to the present invention. The net 1 comprises aplurality of interconnected netting strands 2 providing a diamond mesh 3and having a rectangular main body 4 and four rectangular wing panels 5extending therefrom. The wing panels 5 can be divided into two pairswith the wing panels 5 a which extend from the short sides of the mainbody (short side wing panels) being the same and the wing panels 5 bwhich extend from the long sides of the main body (long side wingpanels) also being the same. The adjacent wing panels 5 a, 5 b haveadjacent edges 6 a, 6 b.

The net 1 includes a plurality of loops 8 formed integrally of nettingstrand material as part of the interconnection of the netting strands,which extend from the edges 6 b of wing panels 5 b and are spaced onediagonal mesh dimension apart along the length of the edge 6 b. Eachloop 8 is approximately 1.5 times the length of one diagonal meshdimension, so that the loops 8, after engagement in the manner describedbelow, form an integrated mesh having a mesh size no greater than themesh size of the net itself. The free end of each of the bottom mostloops 8 (the loop furthest from the main body) is provided with alocking device 9 such that it may be secured to a pallet or platform.The net 1 is adapted such that in use the main body 4 will lie over thetop of the cargo and the wing panels 5 will hang down the sides of thecargo to surround the cargo. When this is the case the adjacent wingpanels 5 a, 5 b have adjacent edges 6 a, 6 b which meet to define a netcorner line 7 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The bottom edges 10 of the wing panels 5 are provided with floorsecurement devices 11 which are adapted to engage with complimentarydevices of a platform or pallet, whereby the net 1 is secured to theplatform or pallet. Each of the wing panels 5 are provided withadditional hooks 12 which may be used as tensioning devices. These hooks12 can be used to tension the net and take up the slack in the net byhooking around strands or other parts of the netting to make a tuck andthereby tension the net over the cargo.

FIG. 2 shows a portion of two adjacent wing panels 5 a, 5 b which cometogether and have edges 6 a, 6 b which meet to define a net corner line7. Wing panel 5 b has a plurality of loops 8 spaced one diagonal meshdimension apart along the length of the edge 6 b. The loops 8 are formedintegrally of a single loop of netting strand material. Each loop 8 isapproximately 1.5 times the length of one diagonal mesh dimension sothat the loops 8, after engagement across the corner line 7 in themanner described below, form an integrated mesh having a mesh size nogreater than the mesh size of the net itself.

To assemble the secured corner, one starts from the top and passes thefirst loop 8 a through the corresponding portion of the net mesh 13 a atthe edge 6 a of the adjacent wing panel 5 a. The first loop 8 a is thenpulled downwards, to draw that part of the corner together. Next, asecond loop 8 b is passed through the eye of the first loop 8 a and thenthrough a portion of the net mesh 13 b at the edge of the wing panel 5a, and pulled downwards, to draw that part of the corner together. Theprocedure is repeated down the corner until the last loop is reached.Here, the loop is simply secured to a floor fitting on a platform orpallet, by means of a conventional locking device 9.

Whilst the above description details how the corner may be securedworking from the top to the bottom it is equally possible that theprocedure may be followed working from the bottom up with the last loopbeing secured to a convenient netting strand.

To release the net, the locking device 9 is released and the wing panels5 a, 5 b pulled manually apart. It is found that the frictionalresistance is sufficiently low that this pulling apart is easilyaccomplished. The corner releases sequentially up the corner line 7, inessentially the reverse of the securing procedure.

FIG. 3 shows a portion of a cargo net according to the preset inventionin which the net corner has been secured as described above.

The present invention avoids the need for long lashing lines, which canget caught, knotted, tangled, frayed, cut or removed, and enables thespeed and efficiency of securement and removal of cargo nets to besignificantly improved, compared with known products.

The present invention has been broadly described, without limitation.Variations and modifications as will be readily apparent to those ofordinary skill in this art are intended to be included within the scopeof this application.

1-30. (canceled)
 31. A cargo net comprising a plurality ofinterconnected netting strands providing a net mesh, the net mesh havinga main panel and a plurality of wing panels extending therefrom, themain panel being adapted to overlie the cargo in use, the wing panelsbeing adapted to hang down against sides of the cargo to surround thecargo, each wing panel having an edge which in use meets an edge of anadjacent wing panel to define a net corner, a plurality of cornersecurement devices spaced apart along the net corner whereby the corneris releasably secured for use, each securement device comprising aprojection extending from one of the meeting edges and an eye associatedwith the projection, wherein the eye of a first securement device canengage a portion of the net mesh of the adjacent wing panel at the netcorner and can then receive a second securement device which passestherethrough and engages a portion of the net mesh of the adjacent wingpanel at the net corner thereby holding the meeting edges mutuallytogether at the net corner.
 32. A cargo net according to claim 31,wherein the first securement device is correspondingly arranged toengage a portion of the net mesh of the adjacent wing panel at the netcorner, thereby holding the meeting edges mutually together, and the eyeof the first and subsequent securement devices are correspondinglyarranged to receive the second and subsequent securement devices whichpass through each respective eye of the first and subsequent securementdevices and engage, in each case, a portion of the net mes h of theadjacent wing panel at the net corner thereby holding the meeting edgesmutually together at the net corner.
 33. A cargo net according to claim31, wherein the securement devices comprise flexible projections eachextending from one of the meeting edges.
 34. A cargo net according toclaim 33, wherein the eye of each flexible projection comprises aflexible loop.
 35. A cargo net according to claim 33, wherein thesecurement device comprises a single loop of flexible material.
 36. Acargo net according to claim 35, wherein the flexible material is thesame material as the net mesh.
 37. A cargo net according to claim 31,wherein the securement devices are integral with the net mesh.
 38. Acargo net according to claim 31, wherein the projections of thesecurement devices are of a contrasting colour to the net mesh.
 39. Acargo net according to claim 31, wherein the securement devices arespaced apart by one normal diagonal dimension of the net mesh, along theline of the corner.
 40. A cargo net according to claim 31, wherein eachprojection is at least the same length as the normal diagonal dimensionof the net mesh.
 41. A cargo net according to claim 40, wherein eachprojection is about 50% or more longer than the normal diagonaldimension of the net mesh.
 42. A cargo net according to claim 31,wherein the net mesh is constructed from natural fibrous strands.
 43. Acargo net according to claim 31, wherein the net mesh is constructedfrom synthetic fibrous strands.
 44. A cargo net according to claim 31,wherein the net mesh is constructed from a mixture of natural fibrousstrands and synthetic fibrous strands.
 45. A cargo net according toclaim 31, wherein the net mesh shape is diamond.
 46. A cargo netaccording to claim 31, wherein the net mesh shape is square.
 47. A cargonet according to claim 31, wherein the breaking strength of the nettingstrands is in the range of between about 2 and about 50 kN.
 48. A cargonet according to claim 31, wherein the net mesh is provided withtensioning devices to take up the slack in the net mesh.
 49. A cargo netaccording to claim 48, wherein the tensioning devices comprise hooks.50. A cargo net according to claim 48, wherein the tensioning devicescomprise reefing hooks.
 51. A cargo net according to claim 31, whereinthe net mesh is provided with securing means for attaching it to one ofa platform and a pallet.
 52. A cargo net according to claim 51, whereinthe securing means comprise floor securement devices.
 53. A method ofsecuring a cargo net, comprising steps of: forming a cargo net to have aplurality of interconnected netting strands providing a net mesh, withthe net mesh having a main panel and a plurality of wing panelsextending therefrom, the main panel adapted to overlie the cargo in use,the wing panels adapted to hang down against the sides of the cargo tosurround the cargo, each wing panel having an edge which in use meets anedge of an adjacent wing panel to define a net corner; providing aplurality of corner securement devices spaced apart along the net cornerwhereby the corner can be releasably secured for use, with eachsecurement device comprising a projection extending from one of themeeting edges and an eye associated with the projection; engaging thefirst securement device with a corresponding portion of the net mesh orthe adjacent wing panel such that the edges are held together; andsequentially engaging each subsequent securement device with the eye ofthe proceeding device and a corresponding portion of net mesh on theadjacent wing panel.
 54. A method of securing a cargo net according toclaim 53, wherein the securement devices are sequentially engagedstarting from the top of the net mesh and working downwards.
 55. Amethod of securing a cargo net according to claim 53, wherein thesecurement devices are sequentially engaged starting from the bottom ofthe net mesh and working upwards.
 56. A method of securing a cargo netaccording to claim 53, wherein each securement device is adapted sothat, after threading it through the eye of the preceding securementdevice and the net mesh, and pulling the securement device tight toclose the corner, there is provided a free eye to receive the nextsecurement device.
 57. A method of securing a cargo net according toclaim 53, wherein the free eye of the final securement device comprisesa locking means to secure the free eye.
 58. A method of securing a cargonet according to claim 57, wherein the locking means comprises a springclosed hook.
 59. A method of securing a cargo net according to claim 57,wherein the locking means comprises a double stud fitting.